At the same time, the Manz Group recorded total operating revenue of EUR21.30 million, compared to EUR37.08 million in the same period of the previous year. In the first three months EBIT totaled EUR-4.96 million (previous year: EUR5.58 million). EBT fell to EUR-4.87 million after EUR5.58 million in the first quarter of 2008. In contrast, the cash flow from operating activities increased significantly to EUR5.25 million (previous year: EUR-1.75 million).
The weak first quarter figures for revenues and income were offset by a balance sheet as of March 31, 2009: The company has an equity ratio of 73% and cash and cash equivalents of around EUR70 million, and thus believes that it is equipped to face future challenges.
The results were lower due to the current difficult situation in the solar and LCD industries. The company believes that many projects are currently being postponed as a result of the financial crisis, as customers are often unable to secure financing. Order intake in the past few months was thus also at a low level. The current situation on the market and the order book of EUR93 million (as of March 31, 2009) means that the managing board does not expect that it will be able to match the previous year’s revenues and earnings. That is why the Managing Board is forecasting negative EBIT in the first six months of 2009. However, balanced EBIT is forecast for 2009 as a whole, as the activities that have been put in place to reduce costs, such as short-time hours and the reduction of overtime, will start to take effect then.
In spite of this however, Dieter Manz, Manz Automation chief executive officer, believes that the company is excellently positioned over the medium to long term: “Fiscal year 2009 is characterized by research and development. We will use this time consistently to successfully drive our innovations to market readiness. We are very confident that this will allow us to further increase our technology leadership, and that we will return to our on-track growth once the economic crisis abates. Over the medium term, we believe that the solar market will return to its former strengths.”
